Drug contamination in Baikal endemic amphipods

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed to detect trace amounts of drugs in littoral crustaceans of ancient Lake Baikal. For the first step, these drugs were presented by ibuprofen and azithromycin. Ibuprofen is widely used to reduce fever and pain. Azithromycin is an antimalarial drug, that was recently reported to be active against acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome. Endemic crustaceans related to species Eulimnogammarus verrucosus were collected near village B. Goloustnoe. Animals were homogenized with acetonitrile and shaken intensively. Then precipitation of proteins was performed with a solution of TCA, and centrifuged. The supernatant was removed and filtered in chromatographic vials. The analysis was performed using an HPLC Agilent 1290 Infinity coupled with Agilent 6470 Triple Quadrupole. Mobile phase A consisted of 0.1% formic acid in the water, and mobile phase B was presented by 100% acetonitrile. The registration of ions was performed in different modes, such as Full scan, MRM, Product Ion. For reliable identification of drug contaminants, we used the pharmaceutical substances of azithromycin and ibuprofen. Thus, here we first time reliably detected drugs in the amphipods of Lake Baikal and demonstrated the contamination of the Baikal ecosystem by azithromycin and ibuprofen. It indicates the ability to accumulate the drug substances from wastewater by amphipods, and increasing anthropogenic load on the ancient lake.